Dwight Howard: ‘I Do Want the Ball More in the Fourth Quarter’

The only twist about Dwight’s latest complaint is that it came following an Orlando Magic victory. Howard was unhappy with the amount of touches he got late in the game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night.

From Fox Sports:

Howard touched the ball only six times on offense in the fourth quarter, with one of those coming from his own offensive rebound. Despite Orlando’s 99-94 win over the Bucks, Howard made it clear that this is not the role he wants. “I do want the ball more in the fourth quarter,” a frustrated Howard said. “I want to become a closer. The only way you get there is by getting the ball and have coach have the confidence in giving me the ball. That’s how Kobe (Bryant) and the rest of the great fourth-quarter players got that way. It’s trial and error. When Kobe first got in the league, it took him a while to become the killer he is in the fourth quarter now. That’s because he went through that phase where he had to learn what shots to take and just get confidence in taking shots in the fourth quarter.”

“That’s one thing that I want for myself, so I can become the guy who finishes games for my team. I want to be that guy whose team wants him to close games out for them. Coach just needs to have confidence in me … Just run plays through me, so I can be comfortable in being the guy and have confidence in getting the ball late in the game and scoring,” Howard said. “That’s what I’m worth. I want to be that guy who controls games. As a kid, that’s what you dream about in the NBA, taking that shot. I want to do that. I’m the leader of the team. Ride my back. I’ll lead. I don’t care if I miss every single shot, I’m going to continue to play hard. Just get on my back. That’s why they call me Superman.”

Despite pulling down 14 rebounds, and getting 4 blocks, Dwight Howard struggled against the Bucks, as he missed 10 of the 15 shots he attempted, and only shot two free throws. Jason Richardson (31 points) and Hedo Turkoglu (19 points) carried the Magic offensively

Whether or not he has a point about not getting enough touches in the fourth quarter is beside the point; it doesn’t look good on Dwight Howard’s part that he complained to the media following a tough road win.